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Dell is going public again
Dell went private back in 2013 to reorganize without quite so much external pressure to perform. Now, however, it's ready to go public once again. The company has unveiled a plan to buy its own tracking stock in a $21.7 billion deal that, in exchange, will offer a "new class" of public stock on the NYSE. The move won't change Dell's control over VMware (which it took when it bought EMC), but it could help Dell pay off its debt at a faster rate than it has so far.
Dell officially goes private, says focus is on you
Michael Dell's acquisition of his namesake company is now complete. The purchase under Dell and investment firm Silver Lake Partners was valued at $24.9 billion and, as Dell said during a September investor's call, the company is committed to innovation and customer service as a newly private company. He reiterated that point in a statement today, saying, "Our 110,000 team members worldwide are 100 percent focused on our customers and aggressively executing our long-term strategy for their benefit." In the lead up to the deal, Dell seems poised to re-focus the business around emerging markets, enterprise R&D and acquisitions, and the PC, tablet and virtual computing space. The move to privatize comes after multiple quarters of dwindling profits and lackluster tablet sales for one of the World's biggest PC makers. Credit: Getty Images
Dell merger clears final regulatory hurdles in bid to go private
Michael Dell and investment firm Silver Lake Partners' joint bid to take Dell private has just cleared its final obstacle: regulatory approval. That means the deal is now all but completed. The transaction, valued at $25 billion, will see Dell transitioning to a private entity by the end of the company's fiscal Q3 2014 (which wraps this month). It also puts the company back firmly in Michael Dell's control, as he'll now own 75 percent of the new entity. And, as he discussed on the company's last open call with investors, that means a return to "innovation" for the PC, tablet and enterprise markets that will come to define the new Dell. Update: The post has been updated to reflect accurate timing for the transaction.
Dell board votes in favor of Michael Dell's $24.9 billion buyout offer
Dell has finally agreed to let founder Michael Dell take the company private through a partnership with investment firm Silver Lake Partners, in a deal valued $24.9 billion. The transaction, which is still pending regulatory approval, should see stockholders receiving $13.88 per share of common stock (including payment of a special cash dividend) and is expected to close in Q3 of Dell's 2014 fiscal year. In a statement released to the press, Michael Dell said that the newly private company's mission will be to "serve our customers with a single-minded purpose and drive the innovations that will help them achieve their goals." Update: On the company's investor call, Michael Dell, who retains 75 percent ownership under this new structure, reaffirmed Dell's commitment to innovation and customer service -- goals he said can now be better achieved "without the scrutiny of operating as a public company." He also outlined several key areas of focus for the newly private Dell, among which expanding its presence in emerging markets, investing in R&D and acquisitions for enterprise solutions, as well as the PC, tablet and virtual computing space are key pillars.
Philips reportedly finds buyer for semiconductor unit
After announcing late last year that it was planning to either sell or spin-off its semiconductor division, Royal Philips Electronics has finally found a buyer for the profitable business, according the Wall Street Journal. A private equity consortium composed of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Silver Lake Partners will apparently pay Philips about 8 billion euros ($10.3 billion) for the semiconductor unit, whose second quarter profits of $152 million were quadruple those of the same period a year ago. The same consortium also snatched up another chip manufacturer last year -- Agilent Technologies -- before renaming it Avago and spinning off its printer semiconductor business to a company called Marvell Technology. Although the Philips division accounts for a sixth of the Dutch electronics giant's revenue, apparently fears of a downswing in the semiconductor industry convinced the company to get out while the getting was still good, leaving it to focus on its core businesses of medical equipment financing, LCD manufacturing, and digital rights management. The deal will supposedly be officially announced within the next week, according to inside sources, with a new name for the division coming shortly thereafter.
